000			01910nam a22001457a 4500
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100			_aAdeleke, Gbadebo Fatai Lawal, Musediq Olufemi Ayantunji, Oyelekan Isola and Adeleke, Elizabeth Habibat _957537
245			_a Merit and the recruitment process in Nigeria’s youth empowerment schemes
260			_aManagement and Labour Studies
300			_a50(3), Aug, 2025: p.388-403
520			_aThis study, grounded in the meritocracy theory, examined the role of merit in the recruitment process of volunteers for Nigeria’s Youth Empowerment Schemes. We adopted mixed methods of data collection and triangulated sampling techniques. It was discovered that very few volunteers were recruited based on merit. Our findings revealed that applicants with personal connections to recruiters, such as shared state or origin, religion, or political affiliation, were favoured over others. Also, some applicants secured their appointments through monetary transactions. Bivariate analyses revealed that this lack of meritocracy significantly contributed to the scheme’s ineffectiveness and hindered the productivity and development of labour. This absence of merit in recruitment led to various negative job-related attitudes that prevented professionalism and rendered volunteers even less employable. Participants were further disadvantaged because of the scheme’s policies, which strongly correlated with alienation, financial instability and unprofessionalism. The study recommended that the scheme should employ merit in its selection process and pay more attention to human capital development.- Reproduced https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0258042X241312479
650			_aMeritocracy, Recruitment process, Youth empowerment, scheme, Professionalism, Work behavior. _957538
773			_aManagement and Labour Studies
942			_cAR